My Pipsqueak in Shining Automail
by katakire109
Summary: Renea Haruhi's life is... well, complicated. Her father's dead, she tried to bring her mother and sister back and ended up in a bad situation. EdxOC
1. Chapter 1

(WARNING: MUST SEE WHOLE SERIES AND MOVIE OF FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST ANIME BEFORE READING THIS SOMETHING PAGE BOOK | If you haven't, go to .com to see the series with English dub!)

***DISCLAIMER: Idea of ALL everything below belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. Some text from the comics, so please don't punish me! I gave her credit!

_Chapter One_

"Stupid Ishbalans," Ed muttered to himself. "No, the stupid military! Just starting the war itself is enough to get me pissed." Guns fired off in the distance and he turned around, and the sound of running footsteps ran towards him.

"God, Colonel, what do you want?" he said hotly.

"Brother, don't get so hot-headed," Al pleaded, and Lieutenant Riza and Colonel Mustang came up from the shadows.

"Just one order," Roy said, panting heavily. "Sorry if this is pretty early, but I need you to inspect the area for any survivors from the military."

"Sometimes I regret joining as a dog," Ed said, smiling to himself. "But if you insist, Colonel…"

"He does," Riza said, her bright brown eyes glaring at him. "If you hadn't noticed, he can't do it himself."

Three years ago, when I was eleven (November 12, 1918), and when Ed and Al were gone for four years from their rural hometown of Resembool in search of the Philosopher's Stone, it happened.

"Father, what do you really think of the first law of alchemy?" I asked, drawing a transmutation circle on the small table and placing my hands on it. The circle shone a bright blue, then faded as quick as it appeared, and as the light faded away, you could see a full meal (complete with drinks) upon the table. "You know… equivalent exchange?"

"My teacher once told me," he replied, "that equivalent exchange was not only the law of alchemy, but of the world."

"But sometimes, I think I shouldn't believe in that retarded law anymore," I said, shivering with tears coming back. "Remember? When you and I tried to get both my sister and Mom back? We tried so hard, only to lose your right eye and the left half of your face, not gain anything back. We did get something, but the Homunculi took the two… creatures back and fed them those weird red stones…"

"You don't remember the rest, like the last other times you told me."

"Uh-huh."

"I've been lying to you, Renea, and I'm sorry about that."

"Wait a minute, what do you mean?" I asked, dropping the fork that was in my hand onto my plate and standing up.

"Lying about why you're half of what you're supposed to be, why your mother and sister died, about me being your father…" he trailed off at the end of that part.

"No! You're my real father! And you say my mom and sister died because of trying to kill the Chimeras invading our house. And you say I'm only half human was because the Homunculi took the left…"

What I meant was my father told me that the Homunculi stole half of my physical body because they needed… what they say… "Human sacrifices" to create something, and they only got away with half of my body, weirdly. Was that really the truth?

"So, if you say you're lying…" I breathed, charging towards him, and grabbing his collar, "…what's the truth?"

"The truth…" he said, "…is that, as I told you, I'm not your real father. I took you when you were smaller because I knew what was going to happen to you staying with me and you wouldn't be with the Rockbell's when it happened. But that's only part of it.

"You didn't lose your left half of your physical body because of the Homunculi. It was because of trying to get your mother and sister back. I didn't lose my right eye and the left of my face. I lost them because of the Red Lotus Alchemist." That name brought back memories, but I don't know why. It wasn't familiar, but I remember what it was supposed to mean. "Your mother and sister died… because of the military."

I gasped, wide-eyed, remembering why the military was such a big enemy of my family. We would always stay away from Central because we were the inheritance of one of the major alchemist murderers, though I don't know whose name it was.

"But, if you're not my father, then who are you?" I asked, dumbfounded and totally confused as a "daughter" would be.

"I'm Hohenheim, Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric's father." _Ed and Al_, I thought to myself. The Rockbells say they left home in search of the Philosopher's Stone, with Ed's right arm and left leg only automail connected to his nerves, like how my right side of my body's nerves are connected to the automail on my left side.

Oh, and just to say, my eye recovered while having the automail on me. Now, I let my left bangs grow so they would cover it so people wouldn't get suspicious. But my eye is an odd red color, unlike the green eye I'm supposed to have. What I mean by my left side of my body is my head, my arm and shoulder, and my left leg.

"But, I mean…. it's awkward to hear it from you, after you'd said the things you said," I muttered, "As Hohenheim, I need to ask—" I was cut off by the bang in the front door. Lots of footsteps charged towards the left, away from the dining room we were in.

"Crap, the military," Hohenheim whispered. "Don't worry about me; escape out the back door and into the Rockbell's. They already inspected that place for you so they won't come back there again. I'll try to cover you."

"And if you don't?" I asked nervously as I ran towards the back door.

"I won't come back to the Rockbell's and the military will find out soon where you are," he insisted. "So, as quickly as you get to the Rockbell's, go straight into the woods. They came from there, and they'll be returning that way to Central. Keep yourself hidden in the trees in the canopy, and they won't spot you."

"Yeah, okay," I said nodding and running off to the Rockbell's in the open.

The worst happened. I heard gunfire in my house and some pauses, as if they were listening to orders. Then, I heard the door of my house burst open and I heard a soft gunshot. I didn't know a bullet could go that far, but after it traveled a few yards it landed itself in my right shoulder, deep in my flesh, and I heard a crack. It reached my bone. My eyes got darker around the edges, the pain too much for me to bear. I collapsed in the grass, blood-stained, and last heard the military picking me up and taking me somewhere before I fainted.

"Are there any survivors?" Ed yelled one last time, but there still was silence that followed.

"Brother, if you haven't noticed, nobody's in this building," Al said, pointing to the empty rooms.

"Huh, well," Ed sighed. "We've looked in Aerugo for a few hours already. We should report back to the Colonel."

"AAH!" I cried, sitting up in the bed instantly. Reality came back to me and I realized I wasn't in a bed but a couch, in front of a desk, with Colonel Mustang sitting behind it, with Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye at his side.

"Well, Renea, I see you're awake," he said, getting up and stooping on his knees. He snapped and suddenly the fire blazed in the fireplace. "As you can see, I'm Colonel Mustang, but if you're not part of the military, call me Roy."

"Military?" I asked, remembering what my dad—I mean, Hohenheim said. "But, why am I here?"

"Oh, that," Roy muttered, "I'd say we took you from hiding in Aerugo, for something important."

"When you say something, you mean information," I said, leaning my head on the couch arm.

"Well, sure, put it that way," Roy said. "We just came from Aerugo when taking you from hiding since the Ishbalans, and told Ed and Al to look for military survivors. Don't bother asking me for them boys." I swung my legs over and stood up, dizzy. Roy stood up himself, and to me he was like eight feet or something.

"Ha hah, another pipsqueak," he said, shaking his head.

"What the heck do you mean?" I said. "I'm only four foot six for goodness sakes." I blew a strand of hair out of my face.

"Well, Ed is taller than you," Roy said, nearly knocking over with laughter. "Al is taller than me—"

"And just what is your point?" I asked. Riza seemed to be on my side, because she said, "You took her into your office for a reason. Get on with it, Colonel."

"We just need to know of your past and if it has any connections to the serial killer's brother," Roy explained, "so we can get on with the investigation of the serial killer."

"So that's it?" I asked, calming down. But I remembered him saying that about Hohenheim, Ed and Al's father. I decided to tell them only half of the story.

"Well, my father and I were staying at an abandoned house next to burned ruins of probably another," I began. Roy got all uneasy around the ruins part. "And my mother and sister were killed by the Chimeras for reasons I can't tell you."

"Why can't you?" Roy asked, but Riza interrupted him.

"Let the girl talk," she said.

"Anyways," I continued, "my father told me that he was lying about two things… About my mother and sister not really dying of Chimeras… but because of the military, and my father told me I lost this half of my body"— I pointed to my left arm and pulled back my bangs, and Roy and Riza looked more surprised than I was finding out— "because of Homunculi. But, I really lost it from trying to bring back my mother and sister. My father lost his right eye and left side of his face not because of my mother and sister, but because of the Red Lotus Alchemist."

"Him…" Roy said, clenching his fists. He looked angrier at him than me doing human transmutations.

"I don't know why, but that name is really familiar… but I can't get it all…" I said. "After my father told me everything, we were talking about the Red Lotus Alchemist before the military charged in. I escaped the back door and tried running to the Rockbell's house, but was too late. Apparently, they killed my father and you managed to get my right shoulder. That's why I have this stupid scar." I pulled back my sleeve and showed them. "It got into my bone, halfway, and somehow, when I woke up, I had this and they said my bone was rock hard compared to a bullet."

"Superhuman?" Riza asked.

"No, her doctors were lying. They're alchemists anyways," Roy replied.

It was silent after that, as if the Colonel was taking all this information in. Then, he asked, "Who's your father?" I tried telling them he was Hohenheim, but for some reason, I couldn't… Just before I was going to speak, the doors of Roy's office banged open and there, for real, was Ed and Al.

"Hey, Colonel, there weren't any survivors," Ed said. "The only survivors we really spotted were wounded Ishbalans," Al reported. He eyed me. "Hey, who's she?"

I looked away, because I knew four pairs of eyes were on my back. "Her name's Renea," Roy said. Without looking at him, I asked, "How do you know it when I've only known you for half an hour?"

"Well, it's simple really," he said. "The troops that took you from hiding reported to us that your father looked familiar. And that the only thing he said before he died was, 'Take care of her… Take care of Renea.' And apparently, here you are."

"Renea, this is—" Roy began, but I interrupted him, "I know. The Rockbell's told me."

"The Rockbell's, like Winry?" Ed asked, and for once, I turned around to face him.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I asked. "You know Winry? And you used to live in Resembool?" Ed asked. "Resembool is my hometown."

"Isn't that where you lived?" I asked.

"Yeah, and while you were there, did you happen to see burned ruins of another house?"

"Actually, I used to live by some ruins. There was an old abandoned house there, and my father and I lived there after awhile, but then the military…"

I explained about that part, and basically what I told Roy.

"Who's your father?" Ed asked, as if he were in the investigations department. I decided not to tell him, but to tell Roy the rest.

"Do you mind if you get out of here for a moment?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," Al and Ed said simultaneously, and they hustled out of the room.

"Roy, I didn't tell you everything," I said. "My father's not really my father. We moved into that abandoned house and he told me he was just a local there and he took me in because he knew what was gonna happen to me, so he could take me into the Rockbell's. My father…" I stood on my tiptoes and cursed that I had to jump to speak into Roy's ear. "Just lean down, will you?" I asked. He nodded, and he stood on his knees. He finally was my size. I spoke into his ear, "My caretaker's Hohenheim."

Just at that moment, Ed yelled from the other side of the door, "Can we come in now?"

"Yeah," Riza said, and the doors opened, and they sat on the couch opposite of the one I was lying on earlier. Roy was still on his knees, with his mouth wide open and his eyes wide.

"Hello, Colonel?" Riza asked. "You okay?" He snapped out of his "daydreaming" and stood up, sitting back on his desk. "Are you really sure your caretaker's… you know…" he asked, eyeing Ed and Al to see if they were listening. They kept their eyes on us and their ears intent.

"He told me before the dang military came by," I said, my head hanging. I looked up without moving my head and saw Ed watching me and Al watching the Colonel. _Crap_, I thought to myself. _He sees something in me, but what_?

"Renea, you're in search of the Philosopher's Stone too, aren't you?" Riza asked, sitting next to me. I felt relieved. Somebody by my side while that other "pipsqueak" as Roy called him kept staring at me.

"That's only half of it," I said, putting my face in my hands. "I'm trying to find… answers for lots of my questions."

"Then you can go with Ed," Roy said. He was still dumbfounded about that Hohenheim-as-my-father thing. "I just need to talk to you first."

We stood in the hall, and I asked after the silence, "Why do you need to talk to me? You seem pretty quiet."

"I just wanna see if this plan is okay with you," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"What plan, me going with Ed and Al?" I asked, folding my arms. I got ready for alchemy if he got too far.

"Yeah, why?" he asked.

"OF COURSE IT'S NOT OKAY WITH ME!" I yelled, and I clapped my hands and shocked him. He bounced back as if he knew I had temper tantrums often. The doors to his office slammed open and I rushed in, dodging Ed, Al, and Lieutenant Riza like a breeze. I burst through the window, and luckily, Colonel Mustang's office was on the second floor, so I landed with ease. I ran straight without stopping and when I finally stopped for a breath, I was at the Central train station. Then, I realized something.

I didn't have enough money to the nearest stop.

"Crap," I said to myself, glancing around and occasionally looking over my shoulder in case they would arrive. I decided to hide in the Central library.

As soon as I arrived there it was raining (more like pouring) so if I wore dark clothes they wouldn't see me. I clapped silently to myself in case they were here and they would hear, and my clothes turned all black, and my hair into a navy blue. I stepped into the Library doors.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but the Central library is closed during these hours," a mousy girl with glasses and short brown hair said. She was holding nearly thirty books in her arms, and her glasses fell off her nose. I knelt over and picked it up.

"Here you go," I said, putting them on her since her hands were full. "Sorry for the inconvenience, Cheska."

"How… How do you know my name?" he asked, placing the books on the counter with care.

"Oh, I've heard lots of people talk about you," I replied truthfully. "They say, 'I can't believe Cheska is running that place all by herself ever since the boss left.'"

"Ah, I see," Cheska said, pursing her lips and tapping her chin. "By the way, who are you?"

"Now, before I say this, four people are after me: Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Riza," I whispered. "I nearly killed the Colonel because of my 'issues' so they're hunting me down."

"Why'd you get angry?" she asked. "Colonel Mustang recommended joining the Elric brothers since they were in search of the Philosopher's Stone. Now, if they're looking for Renea Haruhi, tell them she was just here, but you don't know where she went."

"Um, okay," Cheska said. "You can hide in the back room if you like. That place is always empty, and that's why I always spend most of my time in that place reading."

"Oh, thank you," I said, jumping over the counter and rushing to the back room. In case they got what Cheska was saying, I opened the window on the side wall, ready to jump out.

Several minutes later, I heard the bell ring for the doors. "Hey, Cheska," Roy said, panting and trying to catch his breath.

"Hiya, Colonel Mustang," Cheska said. If you asked her to hide you, she definitely sounded like she meant it.

"Look, we're looking for someone," Ed blurted out. He sounded like he got a workout looking for me. He was more fatigued than the Colonel. "Her name's Renea… Haruhi, I think. Did she come by here?"

"Actually, she did," Cheska replied. The four in front of the counter looked relieved. "But she left before telling me where she was gonna go. It's impossible to see which direction she went since the rain's so heavy. I'm sorry." Ed and Al sighed.

" I was really looking forward for somebody that has a lot in common with us," Al said. "She came from Resembool, remember, Brother? She was looking for the stone. But why was she?" Luckily, Lieutenant Riza didn't ask me why I was in search of the stone, so then that would create more problems between the brothers and me.

"Yeah, I remember, Al," he said. "We need all the help we can get to get your body back."

I gasped, shocked, and stood over by the door trying to listen. _What did he mean by, '…to get your body back'?_ I asked myself, and I put my hands on the door.

"Sorry, you two, but if you do find her, I bet she'd be glad to help. She seems like the type."

"Can we wait here? I'm pooped," Roy said, slumping into the chair next to the door.

"Yeah, as long as you want," Cheska said, but instantly, she slapped her hand over her mouth.

"What? Is something wrong?" Ed asked, standing up straight after sitting. Cheska nodded. She ran over to the corner, where the bathroom was, and made throw-up sounds. _Good cover_, I complimented. The three others just seated themselves in the chairs by the doors. After Cheska was finished throwing up, she 'flushed' and ran to the back room with me.

"I'm so sorry Renea, I think this blew your cover—" I interrupted her by putting my hand over her mouth.

"They don't know I'm here," I whispered, "so don't yell so loud or else they will know." But, apparently, I spoke too soon.

All four of them were staring at us. "Ah, so we found the girl in hiding," Roy said, "again."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Lieutenant, I don't like this, I don't like this at all."

We all were standing by the train station, but we weren't going anywhere. After spending the night at the Library, waking up early since the hours for the library were early, we were walking towards the military buildings. Lieutenant Riza was bounding my wrists together, crossing them over, so I couldn't put them together for alchemy. And I thought she was on my side a few moments ago, I thought, rolling my eyes when we got into the building.

"Hey, Renea, just why did the military bust into your house?" Ed asked, spinning his pocket watch (showing he was state alchemist) around his fingers.

"Why do you wanna know?" I asked, testing if I would get out of the bounds. Lieutenant Riza ties pretty hard. They waited patiently for me to speak, and I had no choice but to explain.

"My family has an inheritance from an alchemist killer, or serial killer, if you will. We just don't know who the name is, because it was so long ago."

"Is anybody from that killer still alive?" Al asked.

"Well, I've heard in the Central papers about an Ishbalan killing state alchemists because of that war," I replied, still struggling from the bounds. My wrists were burning.

"I asked Colonel Mustang about that one," Ed said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stowing away the watch. "He said that they call him Scar, but they don't know his true name. They only gave him that name from all the sightings by the locals here. They say he has an X-shaped scar on his forehead."

"I see," I muttered, and we reached Colonel Mustang's office, and I seated myself at the same couch as the one I awoke from just yesterday.

"So, I guess, if Roy insists, I might as well come with you in search for the stone," I said, rolling my eyes. Ed and Al looked at each other, and smiled. "Well, welcome to the team."

Finally, after that long silence after we confirmed I was joining Ed and Al, Lieutenant Riza decided to untie the rope on my wrists.

"Finally," I said rubbing my wrists. "I just still don't know why you had to tie me up. Isn't this place in tight security, since it is the military building?"

"Don't take things for granted, Renea," Roy said, jumping off his desk. "You know, if you were interested, Mr. Bradley is holding state alchemists exams for people who didn't study. If you want, the demonstration tests are in the back of the building, room 650—" When he cut off of that part, I was already running towards the back of the military base. I determined to get some authority around here. I hated getting pissed off by people calling me short.

"Mr. Bradley, Colonel Mustang said I could come here for a demonstration test for becoming state alchemist," I said, after a few minutes of running and slamming into the door.

"Well, the tests are about to start," Mr. Bradley said. "Go ahead outside; we really needed one more contestant."

"Oh, thank you sir!" I exclaimed, and I burst through the door, the smell of fresh air (does it have a smell?) in my sniff. I looked in the large area and saw four people standing in line, getting ready to draw their transmutation circle and perform their alchemy.

"Huh, some pipsqueak girl can actually do alchemy?" this tall, black-haired dude said at the right end of the line (and I only say tall because I'm short).

"Oh, whatever," I teased. "Not like you can do better."

"Oh, really, Renea, don't you remember me?" the guy said.

"Wait, wait a minute…" I murmured, and it all came back to me. His name was Shane, and he was one of the kids that used to make fun of me being short back in Resembool. He would always challenge me to a fight, and ever since he knew alchemy, he's always won. That's one part of why I took up studying alchemy. To get that damn Shane back for all he's done to me.

"So, Shane, you think I'm still helpless to your alchemy still?" I asked, putting my hands behind my back and walking towards him. "I'm trying my hardest to be just like _you_."

"Really?" he asked, not really catching on to my trick. "Even if you challenged me to a fight, I'd still be too fast for you to draw a transmutation circle."

"Oh?" I said, raising my eyebrow. "You haven't heard of Edward Elric, have you?"

"Of course, he's on most of the papers!" Shane said, backing away from me.

"So, you've read that he can do alchemy without a transmutation circle?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't catch on.

"Uh-huh," he said. "But… he's the only one who can do alchemy without a circle, right?" Shane asked, and I smiled.

"You're so stupid," I said, and I clapped behind my back, placed my hands on the cement floor and waved it. He stumbled to the floor, and it shocked him so much that he couldn't get up. The other three apparently were on Shane's side, so they drew the same transmutation circle at the same time and they attacked at the same time. The cement floor did the same thing it did when I attacked Shane, but more violently. It tossed me through the window in the same room Mr. Bradley was in, and I landed on top of the desk, sliding backwards and landing on the couch in the back of the room. Just then, Ed and the others came rushing through.

"Just how slow are you guys?" I asked, shaking my head so the dust could fall off. "

Well, not slow, but fast enough to see you crash into Mr. Bradley's room," Lieutenant Riza said, taking out a piece of glass that just implanted itself into my side. A few drops of blood fell, and kept falling.

"Huh," Ed said, scratching his head. "By now, you'd stop bleeding. But you haven't."

"Haven't you realized?" Roy said, slapping his forehead. "Her small stature doesn't grow as fast as regular people. That means she can't heal as fast as a regular human either."

"Thanks for rubbing it in, Colonel," I said, getting up and dusting myself off. "I've got unfinished business to do." I ran towards the window, jumped through, and, unfortunately, cutting my left sleeve off of my shirt, showing my automail arm.

"Dammit," I said, pulling my arm into my shirt to hide it. "If Ed, or anybody find out, they'd see why I'm friends with the Rockbells," I murmured. I looked back, and the only people who really noticed that I was holding my arm in were Ed and Al. Hopefully hiding the idea that I had an automail arm, I said, "Just a cut, that's it." Ed and Al looked relieved, and I looked back at Roy and Lieutenant Riza. They both winked at me, and I smiled. Then, I remembered Shane. I turned back over outside and saw him standing, holding his side like I was.

"So, Renea, you know alchemy?" he asked weakly, and that caught me off guard.

"Well, yeah," I said. "Isn't that why I'm here?"

"Well, you remember that saying that kept going around that your mom used to say when you were younger?" he asked, taking his hand off his side and looking at the wound. It was deep, but the blood wasn't as much as before (stupid tall people).

"What? That one that she said that if somebody insults you, which mean they like you?" I asked. "That one?"

"Yeah."

"Do you really think I would like you?!" I yelled back. "You don't know what it's like to be small."

Shane looked hurt, and I was glad he did. But then, he smiled as if he knew something that I didn't.

"Huh, so you're catching on," he said, and he clapped his hands and soon blue bolts were charging towards me. And (curse my instincts) I, out of the blue, took my left arm from my cloak and raised it up, absorbing the blue bolts' energy for my own alchemy. _Crap_, I thought, _but, might as well get over Shane before I get over Ed and Al_. I echoed Shane's same movements and, surprisingly, he echoed mine.

"You have an automail arm, too?" I asked, realizing that smile he had was true.

"What? You don't remember that one fire your sister caused?" he asked, and he used alchemy to heal his wound.

"You don't remember anything, do you?!" Shane yelled, tears coming to his eyes. "That fire was also partly your fault, wasn't it? You and your sister, Sayuki—"

"Don't say her name!" I yelled back, trying to fight back tears of my own. "My sister's death, well, my mom and sister's death can't be forgotten. You'll just make it worse!"

"What's she talking about?" Ed asked, probably to Colonel Mustang.

"Don't tell them, Colonel," I said, "not yet."

"Whatever," Colonel Mustang said. "But wow, you calling me Colonel? I only know you personally, but not part of the military."

"You'll soon know me both ways," I said, and I turned to Shane, stepped forward, and held out my hand.

"It's time we didn't take our differences for granted," I whispered, "like calling me short." "Look, I'm not taking that hand, since it's fragile, but—"

"Now, are you calling me weak?" I asked, pulling back my arm and folding my arms.

"You're holding another grudge on me?" Shane asked, looking up. "Huh, I'm looking up to you for once."

"Oh, great, I regret that I ever held my hand out to you," I said stomping my foot. I looked back over to where Ed and Al and the others were, but in my way was Mr. Bradley.

"Oh, sir, I'm sorry about the damage, I can fix it—" I stammered, but I stopped in mid-sentence. I looked over and saw Ed and Al repairing the place with alchemy already.

"Looks like we've found our alchemist," Mr. Bradley said.

"Me?" I asked nervously. I really needed this reputation.

"I'm looking at her right now," Mr. Bradley said.

"Take this, Renea, and from now on people will know you as the Bolt Alchemist," Fuhrer King Bradley said, now that I knew his full name. He tossed one of the pocket watches towards me, and it landed perfectly in my hands.

"Thank you, sir!" I said. "Thank you so much!"

"Well, you deserve it, considering all the losses in your life," the Fuhrer said. "What..?" I trailed off when Colonel Mustang put his hand on my shoulder.

"Let's say I told him a little," he whispered. I shook off his hand.

"How much did you tell him?" If it was everything I was gonna try to kill him better than before.

"Oh, just about your mother, sister, and your 'father'," he said.

I shrugged off pounds of relief, and sighed deeply. "Okay."

Suddenly, the watch slipped from Ed's hand and raced over my head, by an inch, slightly to the left. It ricocheted off the wall in front of me, and hit a few screws off my arm and made a dent.

"What the hell?" I yelled, turning around and charging towards him. But Lieutenant Riza and the Colonel held me back.

"Well, if you were one inch taller, it would've hit your head," Al stated, "not your arm, so then it wouldn't be damaged."

"You've gotta point there," Lieutenant Riza said, holding my arm tight, nearly as tight as the rope before. "But since it was over the left side of my head, it wouldn't really make a difference," I said softly, and the Colonel and the Lieutenant took their arms off me.

"May I explain, Renea?" Colonel Mustang asked.

"Yeah, go ahead," I said, looking at the damage of my arm and I picked up Ed's pocket watch and tossed it to him. He caught it and stuffed it in his pocket, as if it had a mind of his own. Or maybe so he could hear everything.

"Renea was only eleven years old when her mom and her sister died of what her father says, 'The Chimeras invading' her house," Colonel Mustang started. "Her father took her in to the abandoned house by the burned ruins of Ed and Al's house, and for two years, they both studied alchemy because of the death. Although her father knew what was gonna happen, he let it happen anyways."

"What kind of father is he?" Ed asked hotly.

"A pretty stupid one, I bet," Colonel Mustang said, "but let me continue. One night, they tried to bring back her mother and sister back, only to lose her father's right eye and left side of his face."

"What happened to Renea?" Ed asked.

"Nothing," Colonel Mustang said. "I just don't know why, and she doesn't, either. Anyways, they tried living with it, with part of the Rockbells' help, and one night her father just had to tell the truth."

He stopped there.

"So? What was the truth?" Ed demanded. _Why's he so concerned?_ I asked myself, and I continued the story myself.

"The truth was… I actually lost… my whole left side of my body." Ed stepped forward, but hesitated, but then came towards me again. He pulled away my left bangs and saw.

"Whoa…" he whispered, and he backed up. "Then why do you still have your left eye?"

"I don't know, I guess it just developed during my coma…" I muttered, "…but I still don't get why it's red."

"Yeah, I wonder," Al said, tapping his chin. "Please, continue."

"My pleasure," I lied, and continued. "So, my father really lost his right eye and left side of his face from Homunculi, but from the Red Lotus Alchemist. I heard Colonel say when I was asleep that he was arrested for treason or arson, I don't know. Then, my father told me, 'Your sister and mother didn't die of Chimeras… but because of the military.' And, apparently, you know why.

"The last part of the truth was… or is… that my father isn't my real father."

"Did he say who he was?" Ed asked, determined to know. I nodded weakly.

"Then who is he?"

"You don't get it, do you, Ed?" Colonel Mustang asked. "Her caretaker was really your father!"

It was that moment when there was shock on their faces.

"You know what?" I murmured, after a long silence. "How 'bout we just go on the train. This is too much." Ed and Al just skeptically nodded their heads, and followed me into the train leading to Resembool.

It was silent nearly the whole train ride, because I didn't want to ride with the other two. So, I requested a cart of my own and ran straight to it before they noticed what happened, and, luckily, they decided to leave me alone.

_How am I going to face Winry with Ed and Al right behind me?_ I thought to myself. _Then again, how am I going to face her when I left three years ago? Winry probably wouldn't remember me. Neither would that grandma of hers. So, I'll just stay at my house._

We arrived at the rural area of Resembool, the place glittering with the morning dew on the grass.

"I'll escape through the back door," I muttered to myself, "so they won't see me…"

I slowly opened the door, trying not to make any sound, and ran off in the fields towards the abandoned house by the burnt ruins of Ed and Al's house. Using complicated alchemy (explained later) I dissolved and appeared on the other side of the door, inside my house.

Everything was left the same way I left it, three years ago, but just a little more dust than before. The table had some bread crumbs from me and Hohenheim's dinner, and the back door was still busted, with dry mud footprints from the military. I charged into the basement and there was a faint transmutation circle from when Hohenheim and I tried to bring my mom and sister back, and some dry blood. It was how I left it; almost.

I collapsed into the faded couch in the corner of the living room and sighed.

"Back home," I muttered, "but I wouldn't really say so." Then, I remembered Winry. I looked out the window and saw Winry's house with the wooden painted sign that said, "Rockbell/Automail". That sign brought back memories of that one rainy night, where I nearly lost all my blood and fainted, or died, to be more specific. My "father" was carrying me towards the building, burst through the door, and collapsed of exhaustion without explanation, and I saw Winry and her grandma come towards me and pick me up on the bed.

"What happened?" Winry demanded, placing my future half of my body on my side and started screwing.

"I… I can… e-explain l-later…" I managed to say. "Just get this on… b-before… I-I die…" Winry looked at me for a few seconds and then nodded.

"This is going to be painful, and I know because I've done it with adults and they still scream. You'd probably faint from all the pain, but you still will live. Just stay calm and get prepared." I sighed and nodded, and Granny Pinako came hurrying from the dining room and held her hand on a button that was to connect the lines in the automail with the nerves in my body.

"Ready?" Winry asked, and I nodded weakly again.

"Okay."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

The shock came expectedly, but the pain wasn't expected to be so much. I tried holding it in, but I just yelled out like I just got shocked by my own lightning. Soon, it was over, and, as expected, I fainted from the pain. The last thing I saw was Winry smiling and looking back at my father to help him.

I got out of my day-dreaming to notice Ed and Al pointing at the house I was in just now, and then I saw Winry talking, but didn't hear. It took her awhile to explain, but she probably said what I was just thinking about.

_Crap, if they find out I'm here, the questions will start coming_, I thought, and I looked around for an escape route. I remembered exactly how I got into the house, and I decided to dissolve myself into Winry's house, since I couldn't go far without killing myself. I clapped my hands and I started dissolving. I heard the front door slam open and saw Ed and Al walk in and spot me.

"Sorry, guys," I said, and I dissolved totally and after a few seconds appeared right in front of Winry.

"Oh!" she gasped, bumping into me and backing away. "Hey, Renea, Ed and Al just went looking for you at your house."

"I know, thanks to you!" I muttered, pointing my finger at her. "Just keep your mouth shut the rest of the time I'm here and nobody gets hurt."

"Renea, I haven't seen you since that rainy night," an old voice spoke behind me.

"Granny Pinako, it's been awhile, and right now, I can't talk," I said rushing past her, but she grabbed my jacket and it zipped off.

"Just how do you get away without talking to your old Granny Pinako?" she rambled, smoking her pipe. "If you're thinking about running away from Ed and Al, then go ahead."

"'Kay," I said, and I ran off, taking my cloak from her hands.

"Just as I suspected," Granny Pinako exclaimed. "I can't believe that girl."

"Look, at least she has a reason," Winry pointed out. "She can't face them again without the brothers knowing that their father took care of her."

"Yeah, you've gotta point, darling," Granny Pinako muttered. "Oh, look, here come Ed and Al. What should we tell them?"

"The truth," Winry said, "since those dopes don't understand anything."

The door slammed open and Ed and Al came panting in. "Well, she wasn't there, was she?" Winry asked. "I told you, and besides, that place is better off abandoned anyways."

"Where could she be?" Al asked.

"We looked through the whole house and found this trap door under the carpet, and noticed it was an underground tunnel," Ed said, his breathing back to normal. "We ran through it, for like half a mile and we ended up at the river."

"I wonder why…" Winry said, remembering those days. Sometimes when Ed and Al were fighting and she couldn't get them to talk to each other, she'd visit me at the river.

"Well, I bet you two boys would like to know where that girl's off to," Granny Pinako said, placing her pipe on the table.

"Oh, yes, please!" Ed and Al both said, standing up straight.

"She actually ran back to the abandoned house from the back door," Winry said, and she spotted me staring out of the window again. "She's actually… afraid to face you, after all she's told you already."

"I know how she feels," Al said. "I mean, ever since we've met her, I've been feeling that she's scared of me."

"Oh, come off it Al," Ed said, "Lots of people are afraid of you."

"Great, Brother, you've made things worse," Al said, sulking.

"Jeez, Ed, what can't you do to Al without killing the boy on the inside?" Granny Pinako complained, folding her arms.

"Look, just go back to Renea and prove that it is okay with you guys," Winry pleaded. "Trust me, Renea get's over things pretty easily."

"Like that one day when she found that stray cat," Granny Pinako said. "Her mom said she could keep it, but then the owner found out where it was. They took it away, and Renea couldn't stop crying. But her mother would always say, 'Honey, at least it found its true home. Just let it go.'"

"Well, she gets along pretty easily, too," Winry pleaded. "Just go over there."

"Look, that's what we were going to do from the start!" Ed yelled back. "I just don't know what to say after all this time."

"It's been two days since we've met her," Al said. "We never know what to say to her."

"Well, it's obvious," Winry yelled. "Just say you understand! It's as simple as that."

"You two just shoo," Granny Pinako said. "We've got some business to do."

"Like what?" Ed demanded.

"It's our business, not yours, remember?" Winry asked, and they stood back.

"She's got a point there, Brother," Al squeaked, and they backed away and dashed for the door and straight to my house.

I heard a few knocks but yelled back, "It's locked inside and out."

"Oh, so you come here now?" Ed asked hotly.

"No, look, you've gotta use alchemy to get in here," I explained.

"I don't really get it," Ed muttered, and I looked out the cracked window to see him scratching the back of his neck.

"Well? You don't know how?" I asked, smiling. "Well, for once, I know something you don't."

"Look, we don't have time for this, just how do we get in?" Al pleaded, and it reminded me of me when I pleaded to study alchemy with my sister.

"You have to perform alchemy on yourself," I said, folding my arms and smiling slyly.

"I know!" Ed yelled, "But won't that kill us?"

"But Brother, then how did Renea get in?"

The small shaking stopped, and Ed said, "Well, that helps."

"Look, all you have to do is the basic alchemy. Taking apart and putting back together? When you put the object back together it doesn't have to be something grander," I explained, "maybe it can even be something worthless. Now, just take your particles apart, travel them through the hole in the door, and put yourself back together."

"Oh," Ed and Al said together.

"I should've thought of that myself," Ed said to himself. "Well, let's give it a try, Al."

I heard a clap and a sound that sounded like rain. Then, Ed appeared in front of me instantly.

"Wasn't that easy?" I asked. "I'm surprised that you don't need a transmutation circle, either."

"Well, too bad Al needs one," Ed said. "Or else this'll be easier." I heard the same rain noise and Al appeared somewhere in the house, and there was a big bang upstairs. Next thing we knew, Al fell from the ceiling on the first floor and landed on top of me. Then, the carpet gave way, as well as the planks below, and we crashed into the basement, right in the center of the transmutation circle.

"So, this is it, isn't it?" Al asked, fingering the line leading into the center.

"Y-Yeah…" I said weakly, trying to get the large armor off my puny back. "C-Can… you get o-off me n-now..?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Al apologized, and he got up on his feet and helped me up.

"I just don't get why—" I got interrupted by another bam, and this time, it was Ed.

He jumped off the ledge that the large hole formed when Al and I fell into the basement. And, he happened to land on me. I don't know how much he weighs, but, once again, we fell into another lower layer of my house, one that I didn't know of.

Ed quickly got off, and from the impact from both Al and Ed, my automail arm broke in half at the elbow. The other half, with my hand, was hanging off by the wire.

"Oh, CRAP!" I exclaimed, turning around and sitting on the floor in disdain.

"I can see why Al collapsed on me," I said, glaring at Ed, "but _you_! If you hadn't been so careless jumping off that ledge this wouldn't have snapped! How much do you weigh, anyways?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Ed said. "I haven't checked since I left home!"

"Well, luckily you're at Resembool," Al said softly at my dangerous expense. "Winry and Granny Pinako can replace that for you, or even repair it painlessly if you want."

"Why would I have any other alternative?" I asked sarcastically, looking back at Ed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and whistled.

"Oh, and that's what you do?" Al asked. "Pretend you're innocent without an apology?" Um, that's not really what I expected, but it's still better than nothing, I thought.

"Look, Renea, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," Ed said, "Something I've wanted to say ever since your story."

"Does this have to do with me?" Al asked, catching on with the idea.

"It's got a lot to do with you, I bet," I muttered. "Since you're in that armor, Ed must've sealed your soul in there somehow. But why did he?" Ed started explaining.

"Four years ago in February, when that abandoned house wasn't occupied anymore," Ed stated, "our mother died, and our father left home because of some stupid reason we don't know about. Then, me and Al started studying alchemy, and found out there was an alchemy that was forbidden to be done, and we did it anyway: human transmutation. We gathered her ashes and buried her over at the hill always by the sunset, and we took some and put it in the center of the circle. Me and Al cut ourselves and dropped some blood, since her blood was ours, and we tried it."

"And then?" I asked nervously.

"Next thing we knew, it was working, but then something bad happened, and Al was getting taken… away into this gate…" Ed shivered.

"Oh, yeah, I remember," I recalled. "These things were taking you away, Al, right?"

"Yeah, and Brother couldn't get me back," Al explained, "and I don't know what happened next."

"Well, I actually lost my left leg and Al trying to get Mom back," Ed said, pulling back his pants, showing the automail leg. "Then, I lost my right arm trying to bring Al back, using my own blood for the seal." I could already imagine what it looked like.

"And now, he's stuck in that armor until we find the Philosopher's Stone." "Well, I guess Lieutenant Riza didn't ask for nothing," I mumbled. "But you, being a military dog… How is that supposed to help?"

"What about you? You joined the military just today," Al pointed out.

"Well, we have access to the Central Library, at least," Ed said. "That's pretty much gonna help us out a bunch."

"Help us out a bunch?" I asked. "It's gonna help us the whole way trying to find the Stone. I bet even Cheska could help us."

"Well, she was a real help looking for you," Al said, and he shifted his feet.

"What? The Colonel asking me to join you guys two minutes after I met you doesn't make any sense!" I yelled back.

"And what are we waiting around here for?" Ed asked. "You've got to get your arm repaired, and then we can check this place out."

"I've never knew there was a lower layer in my house," I admitted, jumping up into the basement, and then climbing the stairs to the first level.

"What the heck?" I asked myself. "How slow are you guys?"

"Well, we'll meet you there, at Winry's house, okay?" Ed's voice echoed. "Al and I will catch up."

"If you insist," I said. I dissolved and reappeared at Winry's house, knocking on the door and waiting.

The door slammed open by a mad Winry, and she relaxed as soon as she saw me. "Wow, what's up with you, Winry?" I asked.

"What's up? What's up? You disrupted me from my work, that's what's up!" Winry yelled, and she spotted my split arm. "Was it Ed again, being as careless as usual?"

"Yes! Now someone understands," I sighed. "I just came to you so you can repair it. Al said you can do that painlessly, right?"

"Yeah, since your arm is only split, we don't have to reconnect your nerves," Winry explained. "Just a few new wires and harder durable screws will help you out."

"Oh, thank you, Winry," I thanked. "Who knows what I could've done without you."

In just a few minutes my arm was back up and running, and just now Ed and Al started running back.

"Instead of wasting your energy, why don't you just use alchemy to get over here?" Winry asked. "Renea's only resting because I got her arm back thanks to you"—she pointed to Ed in disgust—"and so she can use as much alchemy as she wants the next day."

"Yeah, we know, Winry," Al said. "We just found something interesting down in the basement's basement in Renea's house."

"What is it?" I asked, jumping instantly from my bed and looking back at them.

"I can't say, since we don't know who it is," Al said, "but it's a body."

"What? Nobody but me, my 'father', my mom and sister ever went in my house," I explained.

"Well, come take a look and maybe you might remember," Ed said, and he ran off out of the door.

"Well, I'll see you later, Winry, and thanks a lot," I said. "I've just gotta catch up with those two." I clapped and disappeared and reappeared in the basement, waiting for Ed and Al. The weird rain sound (but twice as loud) was heard and Ed appeared just above the hole me and Al made, and he fell right in front of me.

"Talk about surprises," I yelled, helping him up. "Why didn't you just do that back at Winry's house?"

"I haven't thought of that," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "But where's Al?"

"Right here," a small voice yelled from upstairs, the second floor.

"Come on, Al, she's already here!" Ed yelled back, and there were large stomping noises, and Al was here quicker than I was here.

"So, what body were you talking about?" I asked, clapping in the darkness and a small orb of light appeared in my hands, and it was really bright.

"It's around the corner, and we didn't go any farther because it..." Al said, shivering. "We ran all the way back so we could tell you."

"Well, that was pretty smart of you to," I said, carrying the light slowly around the corner, and then I shrieked.

"You didn't tell her he was a Homunculus, didn't you, Brother?" Al asked meekly, smacking the back of Ed's head.

"What's with you and forgetting nowadays?"

"What? Didn't you say to keep it a secret?" Ed asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Brother; that was something else!" Al yelled back. "Besides, Renea should know who he is."

"Actually," I whispered, "it's a girl. She looks so dang familiar."

"Brother, you can't tell the difference between genders, anymore," Al cursed. "Next thing we know you're gonna start painting your nails."

"Oh, keep it shut, Al," Ed said, sulking. "Just who is she?"

"She's a Homunculus, alright," I said, "and she's not dead. We just have to keep her hidden from the military."

"Wha..?" Ed asked, totally dumbfounded. "You're supporting a Homunculus? But they try to kill us!"

"Hey, did I say all Homunculus are evil, like you say?" I snapped back, taking her arms. "Just hide her down here in a place that's concealed," I said, "we can't afford for her never to awaken again thanks to you guys."

"Um… okay, Renea," Al said, taking the Homunculus' feet and due to my shortness I could tell all the blood starting rushing to her head.

"This isn't gonna work," Ed said.

"It's not like it will if you carry her," I mumbled, laughing to myself. Finally, somebody to make fun of that's short, I said to myself, but he's Ed. He gets more pissed off than me if anybody calls him puny.

"Just let go, Al, I'll help," Ed said, and Al handed her to Ed, and the body was actually straight.

"Just around that corner, and put her in that box," Ed instructed, and I did as he said. "I've hid Al in a box before."

"Yeah, I was on that train once," I said. "My mom sold her sheep that was with Al to this big dealer, so we got a bunch of money. Just when we came back home, the freaking military came by."

"Yeah, being a dog is hard," Ed muttered, stuffing the Homunculus in the box. "I mean, being human's weapons, it's a pain!"

"Why isn't Al a state alchemist?" I asked. "Did you want to become one?" I spoke to Al this time.

"Actually, Brother wouldn't let me," Al replied, glaring at Ed. "He said that we shouldn't go through the pain together. It's enough that one person is already."

"No offense, but that's kind of selfish," I muttered. "If my sister were still alive, I would let her be state alchemist with me. Then, only half of the pressure actually goes on us."

"Good point," Ed said, "but too late now."

Suddenly, we heard a moan in the place where we set the Homunculus.

"Crap, now what?" I whispered hoarsely. I always had a heart for Homunculus (for an unknown reason) but if they were awake, and I had the Elric Brother with me, I got pretty uneasy.

"Uuhhnn…" it kept going, and suddenly, the box lid flew from the corner of the wall and broke into pieces.

"Ed, help…" I groaned, and there was no response.

"Ed?" I whispered. "Al?" I looked around, and saw Al's eyes glowing behind a crack in the wall, and Ed's silhouette beside him.

"Oh, you guys are wimps," I stated, but then I glanced at the body of her at the corner of my eye and fainted.

[Dreams:]

_Ed and an unknown guy with blue skin were fighting each other, and Ed kept hitting him and the skin pulled away, showing the muscle inside the human body, but the skin grew back. _

"_So, I have to hit the inside, because that skin is invincible," Ed coaxed. "Since a Homunculus is created when an alchemist tries to bring back the dead, they are weak with the remains of the one trying to be brought back." _

"_Too bad, kid, because they're far away," the man said. _

"_Greed, are you blind?" Ed asked as-a-matter-of-fact-ly. "The bones are on the table, by the stairs."_

_They stopped for a moment, then started again, not able to waste time. Al was nowhere to be found._

_Ed punched Greed in the stomach, and the skin opened about like three feet, past his knees, and Ed stabbed him with his automail arm right in the heart. _

"_You're good, kid, good enough to kill a Homunculus," Greed gasped. "Just to say, you're right about the human remains. But, Homunculi are artificial humans. They're hard to kill."_

At that instant, I woke up to be in the same spot as before.

"Wha..?" I groaned, standing up slowly, dizzy. I looked back and Ed and Al were still in their spot, frozen, staring at the girl behind me. I whirled around and got light-headed.

"Hey, Ed, you know that a Homunculus is an artificial human, right?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah," Ed whispered, and the girl's eyes darted past me.

"Well, you also know that they are created when an alchemist tries to bring back the dead," I said again.

"Uh-huh," Ed whispered again, and this time, the girl sneered.

"Well, just say hello to a look-alike of my sister," I breathed, collapsing to my knees.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

"Ah, Renea, you're catching on," my sister rasped, her voice hoarse. "Trying to bring your sister and mother back was a big mistake."

"What about Mom? Where's her Homunculus?" I demanded, getting up weakly.

"Oh, she's far away, with Lust," she whispered back. "The Homunculi call me Deceiver, but, as your sister's name was, you can really call me Sayuki."

"Stop it!" I yelled, trying not to get the urge to figure out how to kill her. "I can't call you Sayuki, because you really aren't."

"Now I see why they call you Deceiver," Ed whispered, stepping out from the large crack in the wall. "You deceive people because you know everything, and you know something that Renea doesn't."

"Huh, somebody taller than Renea that's not as smart as her," Sayuki muttered. "You know, I know something you don't, just as you say."

"And I apparently know what you're thinking," I said. "Ed, they forbid the act of human transmutation because of what's happened. But they also forbid it for something else; because of Homunculi and because it's possible."

"What?" Al and Ed asked, unbelievingly. "You've done it?"

"No, of course not," I said, rolling my eyes, "but I know the person who has."

"Who is it?" Ed demanded.

"She can't say, because the person is close," Sayuki explained evilly.

"But who is it exactly?" Al asked instantly. "Like, the name?"

"Our mom," me and Sayuki said together.

"But… your mother's dead!" Ed yelled, mostly to Sayuki. "How are we supposed to know how to successfully do it when she's dead?"

"Remember, Ed?" I said, "Sayuki knows everything. So, she knows how to successfully do a human transmutation."

"People just wrote it in the books that it was forbidden because of the lost lives," Sayuki explained, her unceasing voice really annoying me.

"Can you just tell me what I don't know?!" I demanded, stomping my foot so hard that it clanked loudly.

"Of course," Sayuki said. "The Homunculi find this peculiar, since you don't know, but you have Ishbalan blood in you."

"That's why your eye is red," Ed exclaimed, finally understanding. As if to confirm it, Ed walked back to me to pull away my bangs. "See? I always had the suspicions."

"So, they say I have Ishbalan blood in me," I whispered, pulling back my bangs and tucking them behind my ear, something I haven't done in YEARS, "the serial killer must be Ishbalan. But, that means my father, my mother, and Sayuki were Ishbalan too."

"Do you know who the serial killer is?" Al asked, remembering the man with the x-shaped scar over his eyes.

"Yeah, but not his true name," Sayuki said. "Only what the military call him."

Ed caught on, and said, "He's Scar isn't he?"

"Yes, that's the name the military gave him," Sayuki remembered. "But keep this in mind: he's not your father, since your real father was actually Scar's brother."

"He's the guy that Lust remembered!" Al exclaimed, sitting down on the metal box behind him. "Remember? The true story behind why he's killing all the state alchemists. It's because of Kimblee."

"Kimblee, the Red Lotus Alchemist?" I asked. "He's one of the state alchemists that actually killed my mother and sister…"

"Yeah, and Kimblee tore Scar's face in the shape of the x, and he happened to lose his arm," Sayuki said. "Our real father actually gave his arm to Scar, to save his life, and our father died because of Kimblee."

"Just shut up!" Ed yelled, just what I needed to hear. I just really wanted to kill Sayuki right now.

"Try to kill me, why don't you?" Sayuki said. "But the ruins of the real Sayuki are locked in here." She tapped her head.

"Wow, she doesn't really know everything," I said, getting up and smiling at Ed. He caught on, and soon Al caught on. The ashes of Sayuki and my mom were just outside the window above the basement, only a few feet from the wall at our left.

"I do!" Sayuki yelled. "Remember? I'm the Deceiver! I know everything!" _Well, the only way you can kill a Homunculus is a custom way, and because of the ruins of the true person_, I thought to myself, so, element of surprise on a person who knows everything is the perfect tactic.

I yelled, "NOW!" and Ed and I clapped, and Al had drawn his transmutation circle small on the floor beside his foot, and the bolts and the rock from Ed and Al practically destroyed Sayuki, or Deceiver, to be exact. The light faded, and where Deceiver was standing were these small, round red stones.

"What are those?" I asked, picking one up. It shone a bright red and Ed and I instantly dropped it.

"They have no specific name," Ed explained, "but when you try to bring back the dead, some monster was in the center of your circle, right?"

"Uh-huh," I replied. "It was gross, whatever it was… there were two since my mother and sister…" I shivered.

"Yeah, and when you left the building," Ed stated, "The Homunculi's creator comes by, fed them these stones to become a Homunculus."

"So, even if a regular human eats those stones, they can become a Homunculus?" I asked, hoping for a no.

"Yeah," Ed replied.

"Huh. But now what are we going to do?" I asked. "That one Lust lady is gonna find out we killed Deceiver and hunt us down!"

"We've kept ourselves hidden for two years, I suppose we can hide for a few more," Al pointed out. "Besides, there are three of us now."

"I finally have a break from them calling me puny!" Ed yelled in celebration, but that soon ended when I slapped him hard on the back of his head, making him collapse.

"Next time," Al said, "I bet you not say that, Brother."

"Good idea…" he moaned, getting up and rubbing the back of his head. "And she used her left hand! It totally hurt since it's made out of automail."

"Now you know what Brother feels like," Al said to me, but eyeing Ed in case he would call me short again. "He's been called short ever since they noticed he became a state alchemist when he was twelve."

"Twelve?" I asked, surprised. "Jeez, what did you do?"

"It's when Nina was still her normal self," Ed said, looking guilty. "I was taking the test while spending the night at Shou Tucker's place. And, I happened to pass while also saving someone's life, so they made me state alchemist."

_Shou Tucker?_ I asked myself. _That name sounds familiar… Isn't he the "Sowing-Life Alchemist"? The guy who made the first successful talking Chimera… but all it said was "I want to die" and it didn't eat or drink anything after that and died shortly…_

"Shou Tucker!" I exclaimed, remembering something important. "It was four years ago when his wife left him, and that he first made that talking Chimera… and Nina and Alexander…"

"Wait, how do you know them?" Ed asked.

"While I was studying my father recommended traveling on my studies to find out more," I explained. "I happened to meet Mr. Tucker—that retard—and he allowed me to study in his house, since they didn't have any visitors lately. And I met Nina…"

"So, you knew what happened?" Al asked weakly, and I nodded.

"Combining a dog and his own daughter just to pass the assessment," I recalled. "Nina was so adorable!"

"Mr. Tucker was nice while he lasted," Al said, "but when Ed found out he nearly killed Mr. Tucker."

"You should've let him, then!" I snapped, folding my arms. "Stupid retard, that's probably why his wife left him!"

"Man, you're just as angry when Ed found out, Renea," Al complimented, and I took that in.

"Can we just talk about something else?" I asked.

"Yeah sure," Ed said. "Race you to Winry's!"

"I'm gonna win!" I yelled back, and I teleported to Winry's, hid myself upstairs under the bed by the window.

"Ha hah, Ed will never find out!" I whispered, and I heard the door slam open downstairs.

"Crap, gotta keep quiet," I whispered to myself.

"Hey, did Renea come by here?" I heard Al ask, and Ed was panting. Luckily a big suit of armor doesn't get tired.

"Yeah, she just went upstairs, but she looked like she was in a hurry," Granny Pinako said, and I heard her smoke her pipe.

"'Kay, thanks!" Al said, and I heard them stomp upstairs and appear at the door, Ed only trailing behind.

"Looks like she's not here," Ed panted, coughing. "Jeez, if only you had your old body back—"

I clapped my hands, and broke the floor where they were standing. They fell into the couches downstairs, and I repaired the floor instantly after they fell. I escaped through the window, went into the front door and opened it.

"Man, you guys beat me," I said sarcastically, an evil grin on my face.

"Renea, that is so unfair!" Ed yelled.

"What happened?" Winry asked. "It happened so fast I probably blinked and missed it."

"Oh, the usual messing around," Granny Pinako guessed. "When Renea and Winry were younger they would always do that on each other, usually Renea winning."

"Well, I can't help that she's an alchemist, and me only a mechanic," Winry whined. "Besides, that was a long time ago. I wouldn't think I could do that anymore—"

"Tag, you're it," I whispered, touching her shoulder, and I teleported myself to the forest at the rocky area of Resembool.

"She's never getting me!" I announced, and I hid behind a boulder in case this was the last place they would come to.

When I saw them approaching, I teleported myself and left a huge bright green light, one that shone when I preformed alchemy, and appeared sitting at the opposite side of Resembool, by the river and sunset.

"Ah, this is nice," I muttered to myself. "Just like the old days with Sayuki." I had a flashback.

"_Sister, why do you want to do alchemy so much?" I asked, skipping a flat stone across the river. It reached all the way to the other side. "Well, our family is poor," she explained. "Our real father left us because of another woman soon after I was born, and he took all his money with him. Alchemy is a better choice than having to work." "True," I stated, "but didn't the two people who used to live here left because of alchemy?" "Well, they did something they shouldn't have," Sayuki said. "What did they do?" I asked, pleadingly._

"_Sayuki, Renea!" our mother, Ellie yelled from the other side of the river. "Come home! Dinner's ready and it's getting dark. I'm getting worried about you two!" "Coming, Mom!" Sayuki yelled, and she grabbed my hand and pulled me over the bridge and over to Mom._

I snapped out of my flashback when I heard my name in Winry's voice behind me. I waved without turning around and she sat next to me, and Ed and Al on the other side of me.

"We looked for you a long time," Ed said. "What are we supposed to be doing today anyways?"

"Nothing," I said. "It is gonna be Saturday tomorrow. We might as well take a break."

"So far, we found out Father Cornello was really using alchemy and calling them miracles to fool his people," Ed said. "The Stone around his finger was actually a fake Philosopher's Stone."

"Whoa… Fake?" I asked. "Father Cornello's name is pretty familiar. I knew a girl, she had brown hair and some purple bangs in front of her face, and she used to believe him. I forgot what her name was."

"Rose?" Ed asked, and it came back to me.

"Yeah, that's it," I said. "Rose. She was a nice girl, ever since Father Cornello brought her boyfriend 'back to life'."

"Yeah, he was only a bird," Al said. "Using those animals' lives and giving them to her boyfriend, now that's just wrong."

"Guys, we should get back," Winry warned. "It's getting dark."

"The old Winry," Ed and I said at the same time, and we laughed.

"Looking after us like always, as if she was the responsible one," I joked, and I ran over to the bridge, clapped my hands and disappeared.

I reappeared at Winry's house at the table, sitting with a fork and knife in my hand. Soon, Ed and Al appeared right at the table on either side of me, and Winry came by soon after at the door.

"No fair!" she whined. "Sometimes I regret ever becoming a mechanic."

"Well, it's not too late," I said, cutting the steak and stuffing it in my mouth.

"Nah, I'd rather not risk killing myself," Winry said, taking a piece of the mashed potatoes and putting it on her plate.

After dinner, we all sat in the bedroom, trying to figure out what we were gonna do in the morning.

"Going back to Central is just a death trap," I whined. "Since the military is there, all the state alchemists are there, right? And Scar, or my uncle—" I couldn't believe it! —"is the serial killer! He's gonna go after us!"

"Okay, so it's the last place we could ever go to," Ed said, crossing that off the map. "Liore, we just got back from there three days ago, I don't get the point in going back."

"The Ishbalans fled to a new area," I said. "Who knows where that could be?"

"Only the Ishbalans know," Al pointed out. "Going back to where Father Cornello was is just going to get us into more trouble with the people."

"Yeah…" Ed said, crossing that place out too.

"So far, three places are crossed out," Al noted. "Aerugo, Liore, and Central."

"Youswell Coal Mines?" I asked. "I hate the people there, especially the inn managers."

"Oh, that place," Ed said, crossing that out instantly. "I gave that hotel owner the deed to the whole city itself, and I don't think they'll need our help anymore."

"Dublith sounds familiar," I said, scratching my head. "I think I remember getting taught there about alchemy…"

"Us too," Ed said, hesitant about crossing that out, but ended up leaving that as an option. "Our Teacher lives there, Mrs. Izumi, with her husband."

"We could go there," I said, "but let's keep looking."

"Ishbal is the second least likely place I'll be going," I said as soon as I remembered what Deceiver told me. "Knowing an Ishbalan is part of the military is just a death sentence." I took the red pen from Ed and crossed it out.

"O-Okay," Ed said, and I gave him the red pen back.

"Well, all the other places have nothing to do with the Philosopher's Stone," I muttered, "well, because I've been to most of them, but I guess we'll just go to Dublith tomorrow morning."

"Agreed," Al and Ed said together, setting down their pens. I yawned. "Let's catch some sleep—" I suddenly got cut off when I suddenly disappeared like I did when using alchemy (except I did it without knowing) and appeared right by the river where we just were this afternoon, facing a curly black-haired woman and a fat, shorter guy.

"So, you're Renea, eh?" the lady asked.

"I suppose," I said sarcastically, "but who are you?"

"Oh, you've heard of me lots of times by the Elric Brothers, I assume," she rasped on, tapping her chin. "You think the name Lust sounds familiar?"

"Lust, can I eat her now?" the shorter guy asked his voice creaky.

"No, Gluttony," Lust said, patting his head like a dog. "She's one of the human sacrifices."

"Human sacrifice?" I asked. That sounded familiar, when Hohenheim told me the false truth. "Wait, but how did I get here without wanting to?"

"Well, I can control one's actions to my commands," Lust explained, and suddenly her fingers of her right hand sharpened and extended, and nearly passed my neck, and they stabbed the tree right behind me. "You know what will happen if I move my hand just a tiny bit, right?" Lust asked, smiling.

"Just don't do it n-now… please…" I begged.

"Renea!" I heard Ed and Al yell from my left, and Lust and Gluttony instantly turned their heads in surprise. This was my chance.

I clapped my hands, teleported myself behind Lust and kicked her right in the back. I clapped my hands again and a huge bolt of lightning flew from my hands and split in two, shocking Gluttony and Lust at the same time.

While they were stunned on the ground, I ran to Ed and told him everything that happened.

"She can control one's actions to her commands?" Al asked, sounding dumbfounded. "She's probably the strangest of the Homunculus…" Lust moaned from the ground and stood up.

"You can't kill a Homunculus that easy," she sneered, and her fingers launched straight at me, Ed and Al, but we instantly drew up a wall of rock for her to stab instead of us. She took her fingers out, and the rock wall crumbled.

"Ed, let's take this fight to a safer spot," I said. "I can't afford to see Winry's grave anytime soon." But the farther end of Resembool (with the forest and huge boulders) was just behind Lust and Gluttony, and we had to get past them. And that was probably the only easy part.

"Guys, get deep into the forest and if you see them coming, don't attack until we're all together," Ed whispered, and we clapped our hands and disappeared into the forest, with Al soon following.

"Hide in the trees," I said. "You can attack from above."

We hung in the leaves and waited.

Soon after we waited Lust and Gluttony ran into the forest looking for us.

"Hey, Ed, do you know what Lust meant by 'human sacrifices'?"

"Well, she said that to us one day, and I still don't get what she meant by that," Ed said, still keeping an eye on the Homunculi. "We'll find out soon, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Now!" Al yelled, and Ed and I clapped our hands, and a huge bolt of lightning from my hands charged itself towards Gluttony and Lust, but didn't hit them. _Perfect_, I thought. Hiding in the dust, Ed and Al will be, and they'll be in for a surprise. Suddenly, Gluttony jumped from the dust and chomped his mouth over my automail arm, hanging only from it with the boulders and sharp rocks below.

"Does it taste good, Gluttony?" I asked sarcastically, and I clapped my hands together and shocked him off.

"Renea, it seems that they fled after the dust cleared," Al said, brushing his metal armor clean.

"They'll probably come back," I said, pulling back my sleeve to inspect the damage Gluttony did. His large teeth made large dents, since he was only hanging from my arm.

"This is easy enough," Al said, drawing a transmutation circle on my arm and repairing it without the pain. I yawned twice as much as I did before Lust and Gluttony came.

"Let's get some sleep, guys, since tomorrow's train to Dublith leaves pretty early." We all teleported ourselves into the room to find Winry staring at us in disdain.

"God, you guys!" she yelled, slamming the door closed behind her. "You were killing me! I was worrying too much about you guys to go and help you!" I fingered the dents quietly in the corner, and replied, "Sorry."

"Oh, okay," Winry said sarcastically. "That's all you can say? Sorry!? Jeez, what's wrong with alchemists these days?"

"Nothing," Ed said, spinning his pocket watch the same way he did when he found out I was half automail. "It's just how much mechanics worry these days."

After that awkward conversation with Winry (we didn't tell her anything about the Homunculus) we finally slept, with Al and Ed on the beds and me on the recliner in the corner. During my sleep, my lost memories were coming back.

"_Sayuki, can you fix the dinner?" our mother, Ellie, asked, putting the newly washed plates. "Sure, Mom," Sayuki replied, and she drew a transmutation circle on each of the plates and there was a bright light. Once it faded, I saw a full meal for three prepared and ready in just a few seconds. _

"_Thanks, Sissy!" I exclaimed, sitting down and stuffing my mouth. _

"_No problem, Renea," she said, sitting down next to me and suddenly stuffing her face herself. Our mom sat herself politely and cut her steak slowly. _

"_Food's better when you savor it," she said, putting it in her mouth. "Sorry, Mom…" I and Sayuki apologized, and we did what she did._

_After the dinner, we sat at the couch and did our usual talking like we did when Mom thought of the idea of "family time". _

"_Mom, why did Dad leave me so young?" Sayuki asked a question that didn't include me yet. "It's really hard to explain, and it's a long story," Mom said, tears coming to her eyes. _

"_We've got plenty of time, Mom," I said. "We just want to know so we can understand why you're crying."_

"_He left because of…" she started, "… another woman." _

"_Another?!" Sayuki yelled. "He left me three months old for another woman?"_

"_I told you it's hard, Sayuki," Mom said, wiping a tear making a path down her cheek. "He told me why soon before he left, as if he rehearsed it, he left with a straight face—"_

_We were suddenly interrupted when the front and back doors busted open. _

"_Don't budge!" someone yelled, a female voice. It was Lieutenant Riza, younger, from what I remember. We froze, and the military charged in, and from instincts, we all ran for the windows. I happened to make it, but Sayuki and Mom were shot straight in the back, something I couldn't forget. I managed to escape to Winry's house as a fugitive._

"_Winry! Granny Pinako!" I cried, hugging them tightly. "Keep me safe from the military, please!" _

"_They just came in," Granny Pinako said, hugging me closer. "They were looking for you, your sister and your mother," Winry said, sitting next to me. "We kept it hidden, but they ran straight to your house when we begged them not to go." _

"_Dammit," I cried, falling to my knees. "I have no place to stay, since that place will (and I know) be checked again in case I come back." _

"_You can stay with us, Renea," Winry said, but, as if my day could get any worse, came in a mysterious man standing by the doorway with blond hair in a ponytail in the back._

"_I need Renea," he said deeply, and he spotted me in the corner, and grabbed my wrist, and took me away._

_Winry and Aunt Granny Pinako looked stunned, but they didn't move, as if they knew that this man was going to kill anybody that got in his way of getting me. "Sir, where are we going—?"_

"Renea, wake up!"

I smacked my lips and shielded my eyes from the incoming sun.

"Finally, Renea, you're awake!" Al yelled, helping me up. "Hurry, get dressed! The train's gonna leave for Dublith in fifteen minutes and Brother's been waiting for you!" I instantly sat up, and told Al:

"I'll be there, just go and tell Ed to wait a little longer."

"Okay," he said, nodding and taking off.

I dressed in my normal clothes, stuffed my pocket watch in there and took nothing else with me. I ran out the door, hugged Winry and said goodbye to Granny Pinako, took a glazed donut with me and ran out the door. I transmuted myself into the station, paid for my ticket and boarded. Just for a little surprise, I quietly sat myself in the sofa behind Ed, so he won't spot me.

I poked my head over, and Al saw me. I put my finger over my mouth, and he gave me the thumbs-up quietly.

"She told you she was coming, but she's not!" Ed complained, folding his arms and slumping.

"Come on, Brother, she's gonna come here sooner or later," Al reassured, "even if it does mean that she's gonna have to take the next train."

Under my cloak, I transmuted a cake, one that looked identical to my ninth birthday when Mother and Sayuki were still with me, and smeared some on my finger. The train started moving, and I teleported the cake right outside Ed's window, so it looked like someone threw it at them.

"Happy Birthday Renea...?" Ed asked confusingly.

While he was staring at the window, I snuck up behind him and quietly took a seat.

"Wow, thanks, even though it's not my birthday," I said, and he turned around, shocked, and I smeared the cake on his nose.

"Gotcha!"

"Oh, COME ON RENEA!" he yelled, wiping it off and it disappeared, just as the cake on the window disappeared like it didn't happen. I laughed.

"Well, nothing but a little fun before going on the road, I suppose?" I said, looking out the window. I transmuted the donut in my hand.

"I'm gonna think of a way to get you back," he said. "For that, and for that one day when you nearly wrecked Winry's house."

"That was yesterday," Al pointed out.

"What? Time flies fast when you're having fun," Ed said. "But where'd you get the cake?"

"Where an alchemist always gets it," I said, smiling.

"When are you gonna catch on to anything Renea does, Brother?" Al said, sounding disappointed.

"Probably never, but maybe faster than her catching on to me," Ed said, "since she's such a shrimp."

"Was that supposed to be funny?" I asked, fuming.

"Well, it's just that he never called anybody short before," Al explained as-a-matter-of-factly. "He enjoys it."

"Oh, and he thinks I do?" I demanded.

"You're right, Fullmetal," a deep voice rambled. "Insulting people, no, insulting Renea for your own expense is highly dangerous." Colonel Mustang came around the corner from the dining cart, holding the same donut I had.

"Colonel, what are you doing here?" I asked, taking a bite from my donut.

"Well, I'm taking the train to Dublith, like you guys," Colonel Mustang said. "If you wanna know why, some people know of the serial killings over there, and we wanna get some information." I got uneasy, since he mentioned Scar. _Please don't tell them_, I thought, as if my thinking would get to Ed and Al's mind. But to think of it, I can transmute anything, can't I?

I transmuted my thoughts to Ed, and after awhile, he looked back at me and said, "Did you say anything?"

"No," I said, giggling to myself.

_It's me, Renea._

"You said something, I swear!" he said.

_I'm transmuting my thoughts to you, dummy! Didn't think I could do that?_

"Something wrong?" Colonel Mustang asked, finishing off his donut and licking his fingers.

"No, just having a sitcom, Colonel," Ed explained.

"No, because I saw you three get uneasy around the serial killings part," Colonel Mustang said, sitting at the opposite side of the aisle.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Al said. "It's all okay."

"If you insist," he said. "But if you need to talk to me about Scar, don't hesitate. We need all the information we can get." "Yes, sir," I muttered.

"Colonel? Why are you paired up with Lieutenant Riza?" I popped up. "I've noticed that it's not because of your ranks."

"Well, so far, you're the only one to really notice," Colonel Mustang whispered. "But just to be safe, I'll tell you guys."

He stopped, hesitated, and then finally said, "I'M IN LOVE WITH HER…"

"Aw, military love, ain't that nice?" I said, slapping my hand over my mouth.

_What? I have ADD. I just blurt things out without me knowing. Unless… no, she's done with us, she can't attack that soon!_

I could tell Ed gave transmuting his thoughts a try, and he told me:

_Probably, probably not. But you never know. Anyways, is ADD a disease?_

_Not a disease, but like… something you're born with, something you can't get rid of._

_I see._

_Do you?_

_No, not really._

_Same old Ed._

_Hey, when's your birthday anyways?_

_Halloween._

_Cool._

"Colonel, I give you my best wishes, even if it does mean that she'll kill you if she finds out," I said, taking another small bite of my donut.

"When you say it like that, it sounds like you're gonna tell her," Al said.

"What? What's wrong with giving him luck with Lieutenant Riza?" I muttered, finishing off my donut. "Besides, it's not my choice that I should. It's guaranteed from me."

"Yeah, uh, okay…" Colonel Mustang muttered. "Sorry I even mentioned."

The train ride was very, very, VERY tiring, since there wasn't really anything to talk about. Occasionally Al would pop up with something randomly like, "Nice weather." Me, Ed and Colonel Mustang would agree, and the talking would stop. It was as if we were lost in our own thoughts. And, I was. I was thinking about that one dream, when the strange man took me away.

"_Sir, where are we going?" I asked nervously, trying to wrench my hand out of his tight grip._

"_You see those burned ruins?" he asked politely, as if he didn't want to offend me with the slightest of words. I nodded. "There's a house right over that hill, and it's abandoned," he continued. "We'll stay there."_

"_But why are you taking me with you?" I asked._

"_Something's about to happen; you can't afford to be at Winry's house alone," he said._

"_You mean, when it happens, I'll be at their house alone, and I won't have help?" I asked, thinking about mom and Sayuki. _

"_Yes," he said, and we stopped at the foothills of the hill. I didn't ask the question about what was gonna happen to me; I doubt the man would even tell me._

_I remembered what my mother told me, "I wonder if your father will come back. If he does, I doubt he'll try to even kill you."_

"_Um, sir, do you know a nice lady named Elizabeth Haruhi or Ellie for short?" I asked, hoping the name would call out to his memory. _

"_Yes, yes I do," he said, gently letting go of my wrist. I didn't budge. "She was a nice wife…" "You're my __father__?!" I demanded. "It seems so," he said. "But, you didn't look anything like you did when you were just born, Sayuki." _

"_Oh, no, Sayuki's my older sister," I corrected. "My name's Renea. You left before I was born, and when Sayuki was only a baby." _

"_I see," he said, understanding. "Well, when the horrible thing happens, just be ready." "Yes, sir— I mean, Dad…" I muttered, trying to find the right words._

The train whistled sounded, snapping me out of my remembering.

"Come on, Renea," Ed said, getting up from his seat. "We're here."


End file.
